The use of fuel such as gasoline, diesel fuel, natural gas, and the like within internal combustion engines is known. In addition, such internal combustion engines are known to use engine oil to provide lubrication of moving parts. It is also known that degradation of engine oil can be caused, at least in part, by the incorporation of unburned fuel, i.e. fuel that has not been completely oxidized during operation of the internal combustion engine, within the oil.
Currently, engine oil from an internal combustion engine is analyzed after extended operation of the engine in order to determine if unburned fuel is responsible for degradation of the oil. However, such analysis is “after the fact”, i.e. after operating the engine and thus can lead to inaccurate results and conclusions. Therefore, a method of analyzing burning/oxidation of fuel during the actual operation of an internal combustion engine would be desirable.